Chapter 83 Zhou Jingsong can see the light again...

Chapter 83

Upon hearing this, Qi Donghan's expression changed drastically. "Where is he?"

"It's just ahead. I'll take you there, but I can't lift it by myself. You'll need to bring a few more people."

That's the key point.

As Ye Yingtao said this, she kept winking at Qi Donghan. Qi Donghan instantly understood that Ye Yingtao's words had a hidden meaning.

He immediately turned around and called out, "Quartermaster, Chen Shuisheng, Liu Mang, follow me."

"Bring your tools."

Gao Chunyang also wanted to go, but Qi Donghan didn't call him. He didn't know if Meng Yingying was really in trouble, and he disregarded orders.

He turned around and forced himself to follow the group.

Qi Donghan turned around and saw it, but he didn't stop him, which relieved Gao Chunyang. He had been on tenterhooks the whole way, wondering how Meng Yingying was doing.

Once they left the group, Commander Cao broke off all pretense and burst into laughter, saying, "This is hilarious! Letting Meng Yingying run around like that, look what happened!"

"Don't fall into the ditch."

"Or if we encounter a giant bug, then we're really doomed."

The mocking voices were so obvious that it was hard to ignore them, and people around couldn't help but frown.

Even considering that Commander Xiao was one of their own, he felt that Commander Cao had gone too far. As fellow soldiers, regardless of gender, they should have put aside their differences and helped each other when in danger.

"Commander Cao, please say less."

Commander Cao sneered, "You think you can control everything, including what I say? You've really opened my eyes."

Coach Zhao, who was standing next to her, was no longer with the Jilin City team, so she naturally wasn't afraid of the other party. She immediately retorted, "Nobody cares what you say, but if you keep talking nonsense, everyone will find it smelly."

"you--"

"Don't argue with her."

Yang Jie called out, "Try to follow them and see how Yingying is doing." She was worried, "I hope she's not hurt."

Coach Zhao couldn't pick any more monkey head mushrooms; there weren't many left. People had stepped on them and ruined almost all of them.

"Let's go check on her. Hope Yingying is alright."

On the other side, Ye Yingtao led the way. Once the Jishi Cultural Troupe was gone, she relaxed and said, "Yingying is fine."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"What happened to her?"

The fact that Gao Chunyang asked this question was rather abrupt. After all, even Qi Donghan, the person in question, hadn't spoken yet.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Gao Chunyang explained, "I was just too worried about my comrades getting into trouble."

Whether what he said is true or false, perhaps only he himself knows.

Ye Yingtao was a little puzzled, but she still explained, "Yingying found a nest of wild boars and asked me to come back and inform them."

"What?"

Qi Donghan frowned and quickened his pace. "Is she alone at the scene in such danger?"

What if something goes wrong?

Ye Yingtao explained in a low voice, "I did tell her, but Yingying said to stay far away and to come back quickly to inform her, so that her danger would be reduced."

Seeing how fierce Qi Donghan was, Xu Wenjun, who was standing next to him, was a little unhappy. He stood in front of Ye Yingtao and said, "Comrade Ye can't do anything about it."

"Yes or no?"

"Old Qi, don't be harsh with Comrade Ye. The most urgent thing now is to find a way to find Meng Yingying."

Ye Yingtao looked at Xu Wenjun, who was blocking her way, and felt a little strange. In all the years she had been in the art troupe, she had always been fighting alone and charging forward by herself.

Moreover, she was good at scheming, which led to her having a bad reputation in the stationed team. Xu Wenjun was the first person to stand up for her when she was being harassed.

The quartermaster stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Old Qi isn't here to blame Comrade Ye; he's just too anxious."

"Comrade Ye, which direction is Comrade Meng Yingying in? Please point it out so we can run there first."

Ye Yingtao pointed to the road ahead, "Just keep going forward, there's a patch of purple grapes around the corner, just a little ahead. But be careful when you go there, there's a sow with her piglets eating grapes, there seem to be five or six of them."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and the quartermaster even said to himself, "Comrade Meng Yingying is really lucky."

"We even encountered rare creatures like wild boars."

"Let's go, let's go."

Upon hearing that there was meat to eat, everyone practically went crazy and disappeared in the blink of an eye. They all ran away, except for Xu Wenjun, who stayed behind. After all, about ten people had already gone, so what difference would it make if he did?

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Comrade Ye, are you alright?"

He was worried that Qi Donghan's previous fierceness might have frightened Ye Yingtao.

After all, Qi Donghan had a bad reputation before, and he had a history of scaring a female comrade to tears on the spot.

Ye Yingtao nodded, "It's alright, Commander Qi was just worried and confused before."

“However,” she looked up, her upturned eyes showing a rare sincerity, “thank you for your help before, Instructor Xu.”

Xu Wenjun was thanked, and even this lively person smiled sheepishly, "You're welcome."

"Comrade Ye, you can come to me if you ever encounter any difficulties in the future."

Ye Yingtao was filled with mixed emotions; she couldn't understand how the other person could help her so readily.

She had rejected him twice.

On the other side, Qi Donghan brought his men over and spotted Meng Yingying hiding in the bushes from afar. She was staring at the group of pigs, clearly having been starved for meat for too long.

Even the pig seemed to have some handsome features when stared at.

She had already thought of several ways to cook it: roast suckling pig, braised pork, slicing the meat and cooking it in a pot, and using the fat to fry pork cracklings.

It's so crispy and crunchy when you bite into it, I can't even imagine how delicious it is.

As Meng Yingying's mouth watered, someone suddenly appeared behind her. It was Qi Donghan, who knelt down like her and covered her mouth.

"Shhh."

Meng Yingying opened her eyes wide and silently said, "You've come?" She pointed to the grapevines outside, indicating that Qi Donghan should look.

Qi Donghan had no eyes for the wild boar; all he saw was Meng Yingying. Her face was so small that when he covered it with his palm, it barely covered most of it. Her warm breath sprayed onto his palm, feeling a bit like being tickled by a feather.

Gao Chunyang, who was standing next to her, could see Meng Yingying's fine eyelashes, fair forehead, and the joy in Qi Donghan's eyes from his angle.

That's how I look when I see the person I like most.

Gao Chunyang closed his eyes; he didn't want to watch anymore.

The quartermaster interrupted, lowering his voice, "What do we do now?" They were still more than twenty meters away from the wild boar; any closer and they would alert it.

Qi Donghan stood up and pointed to his waist, where he had a pistol tucked in. It seemed impossible to capture a wild boar of this size alive.

He could only kill with one shot, and those around him understood what he meant.

No one would say it's not good; for the stationed personnel, guns and ammunition are the things they are most familiar with.

“Using this—” Qi Donghan pointed to four directions, “two people stand in each direction, forming a circle to surround this group of wild boars and make sure they can’t get out.”

The quartermaster and the others naturally agreed.

Qi Donghan didn't rush to fire. Instead, he pulled Meng Yingying up from the bushes. "Go ahead, as far as you can. Ye Yingtao and Xu Wenjun are over there."

Gunshots are extremely loud; people nearby can't stand them.

Meng Yingying hummed in agreement. Without being coy, she turned and left, saying, "Be careful."

Qi Donghan nodded, and only after she had disappeared from sight did he give a wink to the quartermaster and the others.

Eleven men, in pairs, surrounded the entire wild boar's den. After they were all in position, Qi Donghan took out his gun, held it in front of his eyes, and aimed it at the wild boar's head.

With a bang, he pulled the trigger and the bullet flew through the air. The next moment, the wild boar, which was still eating grapes, fell to the ground with its limbs facing upwards. It was not completely dead and was still struggling violently with its last breath.

At the same time, the moment the sow collapsed, the five piglets panicked and tried to run away, but were caught red-handed by the people surrounding them.

In just three minutes.

A sow weighing over 200 pounds and five piglets, each plump and strong, weighing at least 20 to 30 pounds when carried in your hand.

"This time we've really struck it rich."

The quartermaster, holding the little wild boar by its limbs, grinned from ear to ear, "Just by catching these pigs, our trip wasn't in vain!"

"I've made back the cost of the gas."

Not to mention, there are also so many pine nuts and monkey head mushrooms.

Qi Donghan grunted in agreement, then swiftly and stylishly put away the still-warm pistol. "Take it back."

"It's too hot to release the wild boars, so we'll head back to the camp immediately and drain all their blood."

This is considered half a meat dish, so we can't waste it.

The quartermaster replied with a "received" and immediately got to work, muttering to himself as he went, "Old Qi, next time we go out, could you let Comrade Meng Yingying come along?"

Chen Shuisheng also looked over expectantly.

Gao Chunyang is similar; if others don't know, how could they not know?

Whether it's pine nuts, monkey head mushrooms, or the wild boar behind them, all of these are inextricably linked to Meng Yingying.

Qi Donghan shook his head, "The cultural troupe has its own affairs, and she can't go on missions with us every time."

This disappointed the quartermaster somewhat, "But Comrade Meng Yingying was with us, and she was obviously much luckier."

Qi Donghan refused to agree, and there was nothing anyone could do.

On the other side, the Jilin garrison also heard a burst of gunfire. Commander Cao's expression changed. "Could it be that they really encountered a giant bug?"

Commander Xiao heard this too, and he immediately led his men, saying, "Come with me to help."

Without a second thought, she went to help. Although the troupe leader was reluctant to stop her, her thoughts were dark and realistic. If Meng Yingying really got into trouble, it would mean that the Harbin Art Troupe would lose its pillar.

Yang Jie naturally wouldn't stay at the Harbin Cultural Troupe.

In this way, the Jilin City Cultural Troupe, which is under immense pressure and unable to lift its head, might have a chance to catch its breath.

Commander Xiao hadn't expected this to happen again. She was even trying to stop him. He looked down at his wrist, which was being held, and said, "Let go."

“Hey Cao, don’t forget, we’re wearing the same clothes.”

If they still refuse to help someone in distress, what kind of comrades are they?

Commander Cao couldn't stop him and could only watch helplessly as Commander Xiao left. She stomped her foot in anger, "Stubborn blockhead! No wonder our garrison has always been suppressed by the Harbin garrison."

People who don't use their brains are really a headache.

Unfortunately, Commander Xiao hadn't run two or three steps when he saw Meng Yingying and the others return. When Commander Xiao saw Meng Yingying, he was somewhat surprised, "Comrade Meng, are you alright?"

Seeing his panicked expression and the gun in his hand, Meng Yingying instantly understood something. "I'm fine."

"However, I still want to thank Commander Xiao for his great help."

The fact that they were able to lend a helping hand when the other party was in trouble shows that the Jilin City garrison isn't entirely bad.

At least not everyone is like Commander Cao, someone blinded by self-interest.

Regiment Commander Xiao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was alright. "Since you're alright, why were there gunshots earlier?"

Before Meng Yingying could answer, Qi Donghan and the others returned. Liu Mang and Chen Shuisheng carried a makeshift carrying pole made of wooden sticks, with a wild boar lying across it.

A wild boar weighing 200 pounds.

Commander Xiao was completely dumbfounded. "You're not hunting giant insects, you're hunting wild boars?"

Meng Yingying went over and told Qi Donghan that Qi Donghan didn't dislike Commander Xiao; on the contrary, he admired him quite a bit.

"yes."

"If Commander Xiao needs any help next time, please don't hesitate to ask."

Commander Xiao thought to himself, "I really want to help right now. I'm quite craving the pork you have." But he was too proud to ask, so he waved his hand and said, "Never mind, I couldn't have helped anyway."

After watching Qi Donghan and his men leave, Commander Xiao couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, how did the people stationed in Harbin get to have such a good thing happen to them?"

They've been collecting these materials for so many years, and they've never encountered anything like this before.

Unfortunately, no one answered.

Meanwhile, Yang Jie and Coach Zhao also found Meng Yingying. Seeing that she was alright, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Yang Jie insisted, "We won't be on any missions tomorrow. We'll train directly in the cultural troupe's training room."

"When Yingtao Gang told me about your accident, my first thought was, 'What are you going to do for the rest of your life?'"

For dancers, the most tragic thing is not being able to dance.

Meng Yingying wanted to say it wasn't that serious, but after seeing Yang Jie's pale face, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

“Master, I know, and I will also pay attention to my personal safety.”

Yang Jie nodded and kept pulling Meng Yingying along the whole way. She only had this one precious disciple, and she couldn't let anything happen to her.

This left Qi Donghan, who had tried to speak with Meng Yingying several times, somewhat unable to get a word in edgewise, so he simply went to the front to busy himself with other tasks.

While Commander Cao was still gloating, Qi Donghan and his team returned. When they saw the pigs being carried on their shoulders, Commander Cao was dumbfounded. "You didn't encounter any danger, you just caught a wild boar?"

The quartermaster, trying to annoy her, said, "Can't you count? How did you figure that out? Is this one wild boar? There are clearly six."

His blatant boasting infuriated her.

The quartermaster finally vented his anger and immediately ordered his men to begin preparing.

There were many of them, so half of them stayed to continue collecting, while the other half drove back first. This way, four vehicles could be freed up for loading.

Those who stay behind will take turns going back to the cafeteria for a late lunch tomorrow.

Everyone was satisfied with this solution.

When they came, there were eight tarpaulin trucks, and when they left, there were still eight. Four trucks were for people, and four were for cargo. Even with that, there wasn't enough room. The trucks that couldn't accommodate people were all piled with cargo in the middle.

They returned with almost a full load.

Meng Yingying picked two bags of wild grapes. She gave one bag to the quartermaster and the others, and put the other bag in the number three tarpaulin truck they were sitting in.

Having wild grapes helped alleviate motion sickness on the way back; when feeling really dizzy, one could simply hold a wild green grape in their mouth.

That sour taste practically hits you right in the head.

It instantly sobered me up, and even reduced the nausea in my stomach.

They set off at 11 a.m. and arrived at their post at 9 p.m.

The mission only lasted ten hours, but it returned with a full load. When the car came back, the sentry heard the commotion and immediately went back to inform Commander Chen and Political Commissar Xiao, who had both returned to their family compound.

They rushed out late at night to hand over the work to both parties.

Qi Donghan jumped out of the car, saluted Commander Chen, and said, "I have successfully completed this data collection mission."

"So far this harvest has yielded 12,000 jin of pine cones, more than 7,000 jin of monkey head mushrooms, and also a grown wild boar and five piglets."

When Qi Donghan finished reporting his gains, both Division Commander Chen and Political Commissar Xiao were stunned.

"How can there be so many?"

Just as the quartermaster was about to speak, Qi Donghan interrupted him, "We were lucky this time, we just happened to run into them."

He concealed Meng Yingying's role, otherwise, he worried that if there were any missions in the future, he would have to call on Meng Yingying every time.

Commander Chen: "Good, good, good!"

"Political Commissar Xiao has already processed the permits. Now you can deliver the monkey head mushrooms to the supply and marketing cooperative. As for the pine cones..."

Pine cones need to be threshed, peeled, and finally made into pine nuts before they can be sold.

Qin Mingxiu, who arrived later upon hearing the news, said, "The supply and marketing cooperative also buys pine cones, but pine cones are eight cents a pound, while pine nuts can sell for two cents."

The prices here are almost three times different.

Commander Chen immediately changed his tune, "Then we'll peel the pine cones ourselves, and after we've shelled them all into pine nuts, we'll sell them."

Qi Donghan naturally agreed.

"Where's the monkey head mushroom?"

He asked, "These are all fresh and at their most juicy. If we leave them out any longer, they'll probably wilt and dry out. If it rains, these monkey head mushrooms will probably end up being a waste of our time."

Commander Chen was unfamiliar with this area, so he went to see Qin Mingxiu. He had to admit that Qin Mingxiu had quickly infiltrated Harbin and proven her worth.

Qin Mingxiu said, "Let me take a look first."

Qi Donghan had someone bring down a bag. Qin Mingxiu opened it and was somewhat shocked. "Such large monkey head mushrooms are rarely seen. How did you manage to collect so many?"

She had gone on collection missions in previous years, but finding monkey head mushrooms is all about luck; in other words, it's something you can only come across by chance.

Qi Donghan: "Just lucky."

Qin Mingxiu murmured, "Monkey head mushrooms are very popular, and they are in extremely high demand at the supply and marketing cooperative. They can buy them and sell them to the Russians next door to earn foreign exchange."

"So let's take advantage of the moment. Fresh mushrooms have their own way of being sold, and dried monkey head mushrooms have their own way of being sold."

"Now deliver this batch of goods to the Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and I will contact their store manager to try to get it sorted out tonight."

You can't keep it in your hands; if you don't handle it properly and it turns black, it'll probably become worthless.

Qi Donghan nodded, "Let's leave this to Political Commissar Xiao. The people behind us have been working hard all day."

Political Commissar Xiao immediately replied, "Okay, I'll gather everyone who didn't go today and send them to the Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative right now."

Someone took over what happened next.

Qi Donghan and the others can also rest.

"As for this little piglet—"

The quartermaster immediately said, "I'll take it back to the mess hall. It's too hot to keep this dead sow." He tentatively suggested, "How about we slaughter it today and have it as an extra meal tonight?"

The question was directed at Commander Chen.

To be honest, the wild boar was the most valuable thing, but the soldiers didn't have any meat in their bellies.

"Can."

Commander Chen said, "Everyone has worked hard."

"It's time for an extra meal."

Upon hearing this, the people below cheered with joy.

This is truly comparable to celebrating the New Year; it even boosts everyone's enthusiasm.

The meals were prepared by the canteen, while Meng Yingying and the others returned to their dormitory to rest. After a day of working outside, they were covered in dirt and stench.

After washing up, lying in bed, I finally felt alive again.

“Going on missions is actually more tiring than training in the training room.”

"However, going on missions is more fulfilling."

Ye Yingtao sighed, "If I had a choice next time, I would definitely still be willing to go on a mission."

As she said this, she went to dry her hair, saying, "You have no idea how excited I was when I was picking monkey head mushrooms."

Meng Yingying thought so too. They lay down to rest, and at 11:40, a whistle came from outside, signaling that the cafeteria was open for lunch.

They had been busy all day and only ate dry rations for lunch. When they returned to their team in the evening, they were finally able to have a hot meal with some meat.

A bowl of stir-fried pig's blood with pickled cabbage, braised pig intestines, and a bowl of stir-fried radish with meat—this was the best meal we had during our three months of stationing here.

Seeing everyone else enjoying their food, Meng Yingying felt the taste wasn't quite right. The wild pigs hadn't been castrated, so the meat had a slightly gamey smell. It was clear that the cooks were trying their best to fix it.

But there's still a slight taste.

Meng Yingying didn't eat much; she only ordered a bowl of noodles with pickled vegetables, but she was quite full.

By the afternoon of the next day, both the monkey head mushrooms and pine nuts had been sold, bringing in over three thousand yuan in sales.

And this doesn't even take into account the fact that people are still collecting resources in the mountains.

The thought of the continuous stream of income that followed made not only Commander Chen but also his subordinates happy.

"Now that the money has come in, does that mean this month's delayed salary will finally be paid?"

Meng Yingying didn't expect that the news would come so soon after she finished speaking: "The finance department has notified everyone to go to the finance department to collect their wages according to their assigned groups."

As soon as he said that, the girls practicing in the practice room got excited.

The happiest thing every month is getting paid.

Meng Yingying is similar; receiving her salary on time is almost the biggest advantage of having a permanent position.

She and Ye Yingtao went to collect their wages together; her salary was forty-two yuan, exactly the right amount.

No sooner had Meng Yingying received her salary than she went to the post office and mailed it to Zhao Yueru.

Zhao Yueru, with her increasingly protruding belly, was removing the gauze from Zhou Jingsong's eyes. After it was removed, Zhou Jingsong saw the light before him.

He murmured, "Yueru, I can see now."

He wanted to take Yue Ru with him to join the army!

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Author's note: There won't be any more tonight, my hand hurts, I need to rest for a bit.